


Bedtime Tales

by vickytokio



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Boys Will Be Boys, Coming of Age, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 22:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21381643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vickytokio/pseuds/vickytokio
Summary: Arthur is always telling Merlin to go to sleep
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 130





	Bedtime Tales

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea out of nowhere and it beat me with a stick until I wrote it.  
Much thanks to @jaune-eclatant for betaing!!!

Arthur is always telling Merlin to go to sleep.

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The first time is when they're six and Merlin is staying over for the very first time, but then he wants his mom in the middle of the night. He never slept at a friend’s house before and he's scared, Arthur is almost frantic telling him to go back to bed, even as Merlin tears up asking to call his mom. But Uther would be very aggravated to be woken so late, and they'd probably never get to have a sleepover again, so Arthur promises to stay awake with him if he goes back to bed, and pulls his old teddy bear from a shelf for Merlin to hug when his lip starts wobbling. They lay down together on Arthur's bed, the extra mattress arranged for Merlin forgotten, and Arthur whispers silly jokes until Merlin starts chuckling quietly and eventually, they both fall asleep.

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When they're twelve and Merlin won't stop ranting about how unfairly one of their teachers had treated Arthur that afternoon, even as they get closer to midnight, Arthur laughingly tells him to "Shut up and go to sleep, Merlin! OMG!" but he has a smile on his face the whole time and a warm feeling that his friend would get that indignant in his behalf.

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Merlin's dad had never been in the picture. He left to travel the world after knowing Merlin's mom for a few months and she never told him she got pregnant. When they're fifteen, his dad is in town and they end up meeting. Merlin is thrilled and won't talk about anything else for weeks.

Arthur doesn't show it, but he resents it a little. He's happy for his friend, he really is, but having just one parent was one of the things they had in common and Arthur can't get his mom back.

It's a few months later, when everything is mostly back to normal, that Merlin comes to Arthur's house unannounced. It's almost 10 p.m. and Merlin looks terrible, they get as far as Arthur's room before he breaks down crying. His dad is sick, that's why he came back to their hometown in the first place, but he decided to tell them now because the treatments aren’t having the expected results.

Merlin sobs and hides his face, "I just got him back, Arthur," and for all his envy in the beginning, Arthur can only feel desperate in his wish that his friend's father will be okay.

Arthur was never one to initiate physical contact, but Merlin really needs a hug right that moment, so he sits down on the bed and holds his best friend, lets him cling to his shirt and soak the fabric around his neck. It's only when the sobs turn to stuttering breaths and the tears seem to have run dry to give place to exhaustion that he gently pushes Merlin to lay down with a quiet "Go to sleep, Merlin" before slipping from the room to tell his dad Merlin is staying.

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Merlin had been out since their Year 10, but Arthur only decides to come out by the time they're taking their A-levels. He’d been too scared to disappoint his father before, but after the recent scandal of finding out his older cousin Morgana was actually his half sister, he figured he would never amount to how much of a disappointment his own father was.

It's a late night, and they're laying down after a long study session. Merlin's rambling his usual prattle "Ugh, I'm beat! This better be worth it, 'cause if I can't pass a good grade after all this studying, I'll have a fit. Honestly, I can see numbers when I close my eyes!" his words are slightly muffled when he drops his forearms over his face. Knowing his friend, Arthur's sure Merlin could keep going for hours, but he hasn't stopped thinking the whole day about the mess happening with his family and how that changes everything, and before he knows it, he's blurted out:

"I'm bi."

There's a second of silence when Merlin props up on his elbows to stare at Arthur on the bed above him. It's really just a second, but Arthur can already feel his breaths speeding up, his face might be flushed, he's starting to panic and fully regretting having even said anything and the whole thing is stupid because this is  _ Merlin _ , that's the best friend he's ever had, who's been with him through thick and thin, and who just so happens to also be gay.

"Okay…" Merlin trails off a little and Arthur jumps in again.

"I wasn't sure for a long time, I only really started thinking about it when  _ you _ came out, but I didn't want to think about, because then I'd have to  _ do _ something about it, and I didn't want to deal with whatever came of it, or you know, people's reactions? I don't know, I wanted to tell you though, I just didn't want to say it out loud, but…"

"Arthur." Merlin interrupts him and Arthur realizes he hasn't really been breathing through his flood of words, so he takes a deep breath and waits for Merlin's response.

"It's okay. I'm glad you told me, thank you for that. You don't have to feel bad for not doing it before, though, you get to tell whoever you want, whenever you feel like it." He offers a conciliatory smile and Arthur thinks everything might turn out okay after all.

Merlin senses the change in mood, as he always does, and his expression immediately changes into a mischievous smile.

"The  **good** side is that now we get to talk about hot guys." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Arthur laughed loud and bright, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. Merlin grins that stupid goofy smile of his and Arthur can't stop himself from throwing a pillow at his face.

"Go to sleep, Merlin."

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Arthur works too much for his own good. Merlin likes his own job and gives his best, but his boyfriend is usually already up at the crack of dawn and still typing away way past the time decent people should be working.

Arthur usually makes time to be with Merlin, of course, their years at uni had been enough time apart for the both of them to never want to split up again. It's not that he's not doing enough, he's just doing too much. They share all the household chores, they both work full-time, they spend time together, they watch movies, they hang out with their friends on weekends, and yet Arthur always has an extra job lying down.

He doesn't even complain about being tired despite constantly running on three hours of sleep a night. It's on a random Thursday that Merlin wakes up at 3am to pee and sees Arthur still sitting propped up on their bed with his notebook on. 

"Arthur?" He mumbles in a sleep filled voice.

"Hey," he smiles at Merlin, "sorry, did I wake you?"

His voice is hoarse and his eyes look bloodshot from the light of the screen.

"No, I just gotta pee, what you doing up?"

"I'm just finishing up, I'll lay down in a sec" he answers with a smile and goes back to his work.

Merlin gets up with a frown and heads towards the bathroom. By the time he comes back, Arthur looks deep into whatever he's doing. He pads softly to Arthur's side of the bed and stands in front of him.

"Arthur?"

"Hum?" He looks up.

"Is that job saved already?"

"Yeah, of course."

Merlin pushes the notebook's lid down, closing it for the night and bends to give Arthur a kiss on his forehead.

"Go to sleep, Arthur."


End file.
